Addendum 17 - Art and Stitch Academy

Transcription

Addendum 17: Art and Stitch and Statler Stitcher
START END
About the Author, Lynne Blackman
Lynne Blackman, dba Blackman Quilt Studio,
located just east of Philadelphia in Mount Laurel
New Jersey is a professional machine quilter and
Certified Creative Studio Instructor.
She created her first quilt in the early 1980’s and
began machine quilting in 2005. Lynne purchased
her Gammill Optimum with Statler Stitcher in 2006.
After traveling to Columbia Missouri for Creative
Studio certification Lynne became an Authorized
Gammill/Statler sales representative with Hillbrook
Quilting. She has maintained her certification since
her initial training and was invited as a faculty
member to S.U.G.A.R. Conference 2010 and 2012.
Lynne has had several showings of her quilts at local galleries and occasionally accepts commission work.
She has also taught fabric painting classes at Hershey Quilt Odyssey and quilt shops throughout the
region.
Lynne is also an approved pattern vendor for Statler designs. Her digitized quilting designs are available
for sale through www.intelligentquilting.com.
In late 2010 Lynne joined Olde City Quilts, the authorized Gammill Dealership for the Mid- Atlantic region
as their in house Certified Trainer. At Olde City Quilts Lynne also manages the long arm rental program,
and teaches several quilting classes aimed at expanding the creative use of the Statler.
Trademark Notice:
Statler Stitcher and Creative Studio are registered trademarks of Gammill, Inc.
© Lynne Blackman and Loes van der Heijden
Addendum 17 - page 2
Introduction
If you are reading this addendum of the Art and Stitch User Guide you probably own a Statler Stitcher/
Gammill Quilting System. Owners should be familiar with the terminology used in the discussion that
follows. If you don’t own a Statler and are interested in clarification of any of the information that follows
please feel free to contact me.
Creative Studio (CS) is the current operating software for the Statler / Gammill computerized quilting
system. Creative Studio is first and foremost a quilting machine guidance system. Simply stated, CS
reads a digital quilting design, translating the digital information into a continuous sewing line which is
sewn by the Gammill sewing head.
In recent years the CS software has expanded to include some vector drawing tools, found in the Draw
Menu and some editing tools found in the drop down right click menu. These tools are intended to give
the user the flexibility to make minor alterations to existing designs so that they better fit a particular
project. These tools are not sophisticated enough to digitize quilting designs from scratch. Nor can you
do extensive editing of a pattern in a timely manor.
Art and Stitch provides a wide variety of loading, tracing, and digitizing tools that will enhance your Statler
experience. Art and Stitch takes the digitizing tools that you are familiar with in Creative Studio and builds
an efficient, user friendly, industry specific, digitizing software.
Let’s look at some of the features of Art and Stitch that make it such a great companion for Creative Studio.
Pattern Translation
If you’ve upgraded to a Statler system from either a hand guided machine or computerized machine of a
different brand Art and Stitch will help bridge the transition from your old system to Statler. Let’s be
honest. Long Arm quilting machines are expensive; over the years our investment in quilting patterns,
either paper, stencils or digital can add up to another large investment. The monetary investment in these
supplies makes switching brands or upgrading to a computerized system a very expensive proposition.
The “bridge” that Art and Stitch provides is simple. Translate your existing pattern portfolio into the
language “read” by your new system. Art and Stitch has the ability to open the stitch files you currently
own in the format of your old system and allows you to save them, using “Save As”, in the Statler format.
There is no digitizing necessary.
Art and Stitch can also bridge your transition from a hand guided machine to a computerized system. By
using the backdrop tool on the Edit tool bar you can load any picture you have saved on your laptop for
tracing. Scan your collection of pantographs into your computer using a multipurpose printer. Make
tracings from stencils or rulers you own and scan them in as well. Take pictures of quilt tops with your
hand guided designs. File all the pictures into your backdrop folder and start digitizing!
Step by Step Translation Exercise
Please note that in this Addendum I am using files from the Art and Stitch Backdrops folder and the Art
and Stitch Library, but I will also use my own files. When you use your own files remember that they will
look differently. If you want to use the same files, please contact me and I will send you the tutorial files
per email.
Digital Files
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Open an existing stitch file that is saved in a format other than .qli
Under the File drop down menu select “Import Stitch/ANS file…”
The browser pop-up window appears
Navigate to the location that you’ve saved your (tutorial) designs
Select the design LoveBirds.cqp (you can open any design that is not currently saved in .qli format)
and click on Open.
6. LoveBirds stitch file should appear on the Art and Stitch Design Page. Now save in .qli (Statler) format
7. Under the File drop down menu select “Save As”
8. The Save As pop-up window appears. Name the file LoveBirdsT and save as file type .Statler (QLI).
I add the “T” to the end of the file name to remind me that this design was translated from another
format. Upon saving a design in QLI format Art and Stitch will automatically add the First and Last
Macro for you.
Check the integrity of the design by opening the new
.qli design in Creative Studio. When the pattern
opens place it on the CAD screen using the Repeat
pattern tool. Check the sew path by using the virtual
stitch icon on the tool bar of Creative Studio.
If you haven’t already loaded the Stand Alone
Version (SAM) of Creative Studio on your laptop you
should do it soon. It is essential for testing newly
digitized designs prior to moving them to your Statler
System.
From Paper Pantograph into Digital File
Step by Step exercise digitizing a paper panto
1. Scan a paper pantograph into your computer and save in .jpg format.
TIP: When scanning a panto into my laptop for tracing I usually scan the scaled down version that appears
on one end of the roll. This picture allows you to visualize the panto without unrolling the whole scroll.
The scanned picture only needs to encompass one repeat of the design. If the panto does not have this
reference picture you will need to identify a single repeat on the actual panto and then scan. Resizing
may be necessary.
2. Open a new Design Page in Art and Stitch.
3. Load the panto picture: take the Backdrop tool in the Artwork toolbar on the left side, navigate to your
scanned panto image, select it and click on Open.
4. Examine the pantograph and locate the patterns” repeat”. In this case the panto can be broken down
to a repeatable pair of clover.
To crop the back drop, right click on the backdrop. Select “Crop Backdrop”. The Crop window opens
where you can use the sliders to crop the image to include a little more than one repeat of the design.
When done, click on OK.
Right-click on selected image and choose Crop
Backdrop. Use the sliders to crop and click on OK.
5. While the backdrop is still selected (or to select it, click on the Backdrop tool), resize the backdrop to
match panto dimensions, e.g. in Properties Panel, tab Backdrop change the Height to 6 inch. Click on
Apply. It is also helpful to try and set the start and endpoints near grid marks, by moving the selected and
resized image a bit. We will later snap the endpoints to the grid.
6. Trace the backdrop using your favorite drawing tools. I usually use the 3pt Arc. It works a lot like the
three point arc in Creative studio, only easier! You do not need to double-click to connect a series of arcs.
In Art and Stitch the last point of the first arc is automatically the first point of the second arc.
From Paper Pantograph into Digital File - Cont’d
8. Take the Reshape Tool and tweak the points where needed. Turn the Grid on and turn Snap to Grid on
too. Let the first (green) point as well as the last (red) point snap to a grid intersection. This makes the
panto repeatable. You have turned the paper panto into vector artwork.
Select the design and click on the Repeat tool to see the result when this base artwork is repeated. Click
on Cancel to close the Repeat dialog window without using the Repeats. You only need the single
repeatable design for your Statler system.
9. Once the vector artwork is ready, select it and assign stitches by clicking on the Line Sew type
Running Stitch tool in the Stitch toolbar. Then save in both .ans format and .qli format.
10. Open Creative Studio and check for the designs integrity.
Pattern Editing
Another feature that Art and Stitch has that will enhance your Creative Studio experience is the ability to
edit single nodes (points) within a design. You can move, edit, delete and add points within a design.
This feature helps to create more and better fills, edit designs to fit odd shapes like double wedding ring,
create p2p patterns without jump stitches, and even adjust several E2E designs to create concatenating
sets.
There are many pieced quilt tops that would benefit from the placement of background fill around an
applique. Creative Studio gives you the option of either trimming an area of background quilting way with
the trim tool, or using the fill feature to fill an area. Both tools result in unsightly jump stitches or over
stitching . Art and Stitch includes many predesigned Creative Fills and Motif fills in the Library. These fills
are an enhancement to Creative Studio because you have some control over jump stitches and
overstitching. By making changes to the fill angle, moving the start and end points of the stitching or,
moving individual points the designer can reduce and even eliminate jumps and over stitching.
I prefer to use the Auto Stipple feature when filling in around appliques because you get no jump stitches,
no stitch over and you can edit points.
Stipple behind an actual Applique
Art and Stitch gives you the ability to take pictures of actual applique blocks and create background fills
to fit perfectly. Using a small camera take a picture of the block in which you want to place background
stippling. Make sure your picture includes the entire area that you want stippled. Transfer the picture to
your laptop. I use my cell phone to take my pictures, then I can email the pictures to myself. I open and
save the pictures through my email application (Remember to save the pictures directly into the backdrop
folder in Art and Stitch).
Step by step exercise Auto Stipple a block from a photograph
1. Open a new page in Art and Stitch
2. Click on the Backdrop Tool in the Artwork toolbar on the left and load the applique picture you saved
into the backdrop folder. Notice that I placed a yardstick along one side of the block and included it in the
picture. This helps when you are resizing the picture to match the block size.
3. While the image is still selected, right-click on it and choose “Crop Backdrop”. Crop the picture to just
outside the seam lines of the block and click on OK.
4. Resize the cropped photo to match the block size and click on Apply. Digitizing in actual size improves
the patterns fit when stitching out the pattern.
5. Take Line drawing tool from the Artwork Toolbar on the left and trace the outline in the seam allowances
of the pictured block.
6. Now trace the applique using your favorite drawing tool.
7. Reshape the lines, then right-click and choose Close Line.
Stipple behind an actual Applique - Cont’d
8 Look at the sequence view to verify all the areas are outlined
9. Select both the applique and the outer rectangular shape, right-click and choose Transform Artwork >
Exclude.
10. Select the merged shape and apply the Auto Stipple fill stitch type
11. Notice that in this particular example the merged shape created two separate closed background
shapes. We will need to trace the left side shape to create a second stippled background area. These
two areas will be connected by a single jump stitch.
Trace an outline around the left hand background area. Close shape and apply Auto Stipple.
In Properties Panel, tab Autostipple play with the settings for Spacing, Stitch length and Random factor.
Different combinations result in different looks of the Auto Stipple.
Stitch length 2, Spacing 3, Random factor 0%
Stitch length 2, Spacing 3, Random factor 50%
Stipple behind an actual Applique - Cont’d
The Auto Stipple tool creates a stitch file. To edit the stipple we must use the Stitch Edit tool, not
the reshape tool.
12. Select the Stitch Edit tool to move any points along the sew path that fall to close to the
applique shape, or areas that need to be better filled. You will be more successful if you zoom in
close to any area in question.
When you move the Stitch Edit tool over the stitch line a small square will appear wherever an
editable point exists. Click and drag points to move. You can also click and press Delete on your
keyboard to delete points if necessary.
Warning: this detailed stitch editing work is typically the last thing you do. Do NOT turn the stitch
edited design back into artwork, because that will remove all stitch edits.
When editing is complete hide the backdrop and use the Stitch simulator at the bottom of the Art and Stitch
window to watch the stipple sew out.
Point by Point Editing / Reshape
Another very useful way of using the ability to Reshape / Edit points occurs when locating patterns that
are suitable for Double Wedding Ring quilts. Many patterns seem to almost fit the concave center area,
if only the corners could be stretched into the points. Art and Stitch allows us to isolate areas within a
design and make changes to better fit a boundary.
Step by step Reshape exercise
1. Start a new Design Page and click on the Backdrop tool in the Artwork
Toolbar on the left. Select and open image “QLTWeddingRing.jpg”
located in My Documents in the folder Art and Stitch Backdrops. While the
backdrop is still selected, make it a little lighter using the slider bar in
Properties panel, tab Backdrop. Click on Apply.
2. Click on the Library button in the Artwork Toolbar and click on the
design named Baltimore to open it.
3. Take the Reshape tool and click on the design. Now select and move the corner points so that they fit
better in the corners of the wedding ring center. To make it easier to do the same for all corners, turn the
Grid on as well as Snap to Grid.
With the Reshape tool drag a box around the top part of the design to select multiple points together. Then
click and hold the top point and move it one grid box up. Release the mouse. Repeat for the other corners.
Finally assign stitches and save as ANS, then save again as QLI and test in Creative Studio SAM.
Point by Point Editing / Reshape - Cont’d
Note by Lynne
As I hope you now realize, any Statler owner that learns to use Art and Stitch will be operating at a significant
advantage over those that limit themselves to Creative Studio. Not only can you design new patterns, but just as
important, you will get more use out of your existing portfolio.
The two programs function beautifully together allowing you as a quilter to reach your full potential.
As a Certified Trainer for Creative Studio, I am always exploring new ways to stretch the use of my Statler. Art and
Stitch facilitates this process
Creatively Quilting,
Lynne Blackman
Certified Creative Studio Trainer
Certified Teacher Art and Stitch

Addendum 17 - Art and Stitch Academy

Transcription

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